Dale Swartzendruber

Dale Eugene Swartzendruber, 90, died peacefully with assistance from hospice care on April 17, 2023 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  A memorial service is planned at Sugar Creek Mennonite Church on Saturday, May 13 at 3:00 p.m.  The family will receive visitors from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Mennonite Central Committee or Hillcrest Academy (formerly Iowa Mennonite School).

Dale was born on September 2, 1932 to Roy Swartzendruber and Velma Hershberger on a farm near Kalona, Iowa.  He treasured his high school years at Iowa Mennonite School, graduating in 1951.  He married Beulah (Pud) Graber of Wayland, Iowa on September 17, 1955, and after several years of farming in the Wellman area they settled in Wayland.  Dale was employed at Blue Bird Midwest in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa for 33 years, and also serviced and sold Electrolux vacuum cleaners.  He was an active member of Sugar Creek Church and enjoyed singing and serving in many capacities, also having a strong interest in peace and social justice issues.  Dale and Pud lived in the Wayland area until 2014, at which time they moved to Cedar Falls to be near their oldest daughter.  He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, neighbor, and friend, who loved meeting new people, volunteering, gardening, traveling, playing cards, entertaining friends, and following the Cubs and Hawkeyes.  

Dale is survived by daughters Susie (John Hamiel) and Sara (Calvin Eigsti); four grandchildren Aaron Lehman, Kareem (Katherine) Lehman, Megan Eigsti (Nate O’Leary), and Allison Eigsti; two great-grandchildren, Aspen and Josephine Lehman; two sisters, Margaret Beikman and Mary Althaus, and one brother, Duane Swartzendruber. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Beulah in 2018; sister Lucille Brenneman; and two brothers, Arliss and Ken Swartzendruber.